Vandalism

News about Vandalism, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 6, 2015

Singapore sentences Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz of Germany to three strokes of rattan cane and nine months in prison for vandalism. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

French prosecutor Philippe Vannier says five teenagers arrested for overturning as many as 250 gravestones in Jewish cemetery in eastern France had clear anti-Semitic motive. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

French police detain five teenagers in connection with desecration of as many as 250 gravestones in Jewish cemetery near German border; remains unclear whether vandalism was motivated by anti-Semitism, but nonetheless increases sense among European Jews that they are under attack. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

French Interior Ministry reports that vandals on New Year's Eve set fire to 940 cars, decline from previous year's total of 1,067. MORE

Nov. 30, 2014

Campus Corner; Howard's Rock at Clemson University is an iconic fixture in college football, and has been a target of vandalism over the years. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

Police arrest man who drove car onto Oklahoma Capitol grounds and into disputed granite monument of the Ten Commandments, smashing it to pieces; man says Satan made him destroy monument. MORE

Aug. 14, 2014

Artist Maximo Caminero pleads guilty to criminal mischief for dropping a vase by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei on floor of Perez Art Museum Miami as part of protest, and is sentenced to 19 months probation and 100 hours of community service; must also pay restitution. MORE

Jul. 22, 2014

Police say vandals went on weekend rampage in New York City's Central Park, damaging several structures and popular paths in the West 60s and 70s. MORE

Jul. 14, 2014

Destruction of light-rail stations in Jerusalem by rioters in Palestinian neighborhoods, while a minor casualty compared with mounting death toll in Gaza, is still laden with symbolic meaning; rail was once celebrated, at least by Israeli Jews, as artery of coexistence in otherwise hostile, divided city. MORE

Jul. 2, 2014

Jim Dwyer About New York column; vandals break windows of cars parked along Cabrini Boulevard in Upper Manhattan, causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage in seemingly pointless crime. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

Japanese police arrest man who said he tore pages out of books related to Anne Frank at Tokyo library. MORE

Mar. 12, 2014

Animal sculptures at Bellevue Hospital Center's sobriety garden are smashed and destroyed by vandals; garden, which sits in a back corner of the hospital at Franklin D Roosevelt Drive and 26th Street in Manhattan, does not have a fence and is open to the public; hospital will clear the garden and reopen it this spring. MORE

Feb. 22, 2014

Japan promises to begin an investigation into mutilation of copies of The Diary of Anne Frank and other books related to the Holocaust victim at public libraries across Tokyo; officials say they do not know motive for vandalism. MORE

Feb. 22, 2014

University of Mississippi says students could face criminal charges for placing a noose on statue honoring James Meredith, college’s first black student; fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon says men were a part of group's chapter at the university, and that it had expelled the men and suspended the chapter. MORE

Feb. 21, 2014

Students say University of Mississippi needs to mount more aggressive stand against bigotry after two unidentified men placed a noose around statue of the school’s first black student; minorities make up nearly quarter of student body, but reminders of university's Jim Crow past continue to permeate its idyllic campus. MORE

Feb. 19, 2014

Federal Bureau of Investigation says it has joined the inquiry into an act of vandalism at the University of Mississippi, where a statue of the university’s first black student was found with a noose and a flag with the Confederate battle emblem. MORE

Feb. 19, 2014

Artist Maximo Caminero says he destroyed Ai Weiwei vase on display at Perez Art Museum in Miami to protest its neglect of local artists. MORE

Dec. 22, 2013

Vandals in Sweden have, for the 27th time, burned down a giant straw goat meant to symbolize Christmas spirit; straw goat is a centuries-old Scandinavian yule symbol that preceded Santa Claus as the bringer of gifts. MORE

Oct. 29, 2013

Rome Journal; handful of older Roman residents have volunteered to help in the upkeep of a park of Rome's ancient aqueducts, in order to make up for budget cuts to the public institution in charge of the park; volunteers are not able to completely fill the gap, and their main challenge is dealing with vandals. MORE

Aug. 12, 2013

Sri Lankan police impose a curfew on a Colombo neighborhood, day after a Buddhist-led mob vandalized a mosque in an episode that has heightened religious tensions in the country and prompted a statement of concern by the United States. MORE

Jul. 31, 2013

Prosecutors say Jiamei Tian, woman charged with defacing Washington National Cathedral, was traveling on expired visa and carrying can of green paint when she was arrested. MORE

Jun. 19, 2013

Tires of 28 cars are slashed and anti-Arab graffiti sprayed in Abu Ghosh, Arab-Israeli suburb of Jerusalem popular with tourists; attack comes two days after Israel's security cabinet expands legal tools available for investigating and prosecuting racist, nationalistic vandalism. MORE

Jun. 5, 2013

Staff at Saguaro National Park in Arizona say there is reason to believe that spike in vandalism and graffiti on public lands coincides with the rise of social media; vandals, who are even defacing majestic saguaro cactuses, are posting pictures of damage they have wrought on Facebook and other social media sites; unprecedented level and nature of vandalism is unnerving park officials across Western states. MORE

Apr. 12, 2013

Police in Monroe County, Ind, arrest abortion opponent Benjamin Curell of Ellettsville and charge him with breaking into Planned Parenthood clinic and causing damage with an ax. MORE

Jan. 18, 2013

Berlin Journal; group calling itself Free Swabylon defaces statue in Berlin with spatzle, southern German noodle dish, latest episode in escalating quarrel between Berliners and migrants from southern district of Swabia; vandals are calling for autonomous Swabian district in Berlin. MORE

Jan. 18, 2013

Labor leaders reject suspicions that labor disputes were behind vandalism that caused $500,000 in damages to Quaker meeting house under construction in Philadelphia; many continue to see incident as an example of union intimidation. MORE

Oct. 30, 2012

Signs in support of Obama/Biden or Romney/Ryan campaign tickets are being stolen and vandalized all over south Florida, serving as proxies for all the fury, disappointment and disgust the presidential race has stirred. MORE

Sep. 25, 2012

Police contradict reports from staff members at the campaign headquarters of Rep Michael G Grimm of Staten Island that the office was vandalized, and a computer server containing confidential campaign files and polling data erased; police experts who examining the computer system conclude that nothing was erased or tampered with, and find no evidence of an intruder. MORE

Sep. 5, 2012

Vandals burn the door of a Trappist monastery in Latrun, Israel, scrawling anti-Christian slogans on the walls; Israeli authorities suspect incident is the work of Jewish extremists avenging recent moves against unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank. MORE

Aug. 14, 2012

Police in San Diego are investigating a huge midnight water-gun fight that caused an estimated $10,000 in damage to the historic lily pond at Balboa Park. MORE

Jul. 14, 2012

Police officers have become a familiar sight at the Resorts World Casino in Queens since it opened in 2011, but not for the kinds of crimes that had been predicted by opponents; police have arrested 41 people at the casino, accused of damaging its gambling machines after losing money; such demonstrations of slot and roulette rage are familiar to casino operators across the country. MORE

Jun. 12, 2012

Vandals spray-paint graffiti on the walls of Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, with messages attacking Zionism and blaming Zionists for the Holocaust. MORE

Singapore on Thursday sentenced two German men to three strokes of a rattan cane and nine months in prison after they were found guilty of vandalizing a public train carriage, according to court documents.